FYI About DLC – the May TopGear Car Pack

You gotta love Forza Motorsport 4 DLC packs! While Forza 4
is already packed with content , we keep making it better by offering even more
cars to enhance the ultimate racing game. Some cars are must-haves to drive for
their raw power alone, like the 2012 Hennessey Venom GT. Others provide a
unique experience that drives curiosity or an urge to customize, as with the
AMC Pacer X or the Smart fortwo. Lastly, some DLC vehicles just beg to become
design platforms for outright creativity, hence the Ford Transit SuperSportVan.

In our new series “FYI About DLC”, we want to give you even
more reasons to love Forza add-on packs like the May TopGear Pack.
In our research of monthly add-on cars, we come across tons of tidbits of
interesting (although sometimes useless) information. For example, did you know
that the passenger door on the Pacer is four inches longer than the driver
door? Or that the Smart fortwo cabin can withstand more damage than the human
body can tolerate in an accident?

Here’s some more tidbits we came across regarding the May
DLC cars this month:

2012 Hennessey Venom
GT

The fastest 0-200 acceleration available in the world. The
best power-to-weight ratio of any car currently produced. When asked about the Venom
GT’s acceleration, the phrase “You have no idea…” is often the first response
from those that have experienced it.

While giving the Bugatti Veyron--and even the Super Sport--its
due, the Hennessey Venom GT is gloriously fast. Watch what happens at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed when a Bugatti driver realizes he is going to be
followed by a Venom GT. The look on the passenger’s face is proof enough of the
thrill this car’s unmatched power can deliver.

Here’s a look at that Goodwood run from the
outside. The sound that motor makes is just outrageous.

1977 AMC Pacer X

“Pacer, the first wide, small car,” was AMC’s marketing
slogan in this 1970’s ad for the Pacer, although the picture quality suffers,
the imagery is all AMC.

Check out this brochure and sales
guide for the Pacer, the language, style and images just scream 1970s chic.

The original Popular Mechanics review (page
1, page
2) tells of the Pacers well thought design and its competitiveness with
similar cars such as the Ford Mustang II and GM’s Monza.

Finally, it’s obvious that the Pacer is a very curvaceous
car and in France they took advantage of those curves and France’s open-minded
sensibilities to create this
not-at-all-unforgettable magazine ad for the Pacer. It’s virtually free of
subtlety and not entirely safe for work, but the image won’t soon leave your
memory.

2011 Ford Transit Van

Sabine Schmitz, former BMW race driver and the woman known
for driving the BMW Ring Taxi, took a shot at a challenge on TopGear: Get the
Transit Van around the Nürburgring in less than ten minutes.

Who says vans aren’t built for performance? Well, uh, Sabine
might have. Check out the video to see if Sabine can pull the most out of the
van and complete the challenge.

Blasting a Transit Van around the Ring is one thing. Making
it into a drift-ready specialty vehicle is something else entirely. Yet turning the SuperSport Van into a Forza-4
drifting machine might soon become a common aspiration, especially after you get
a load of the following treat. Check out this video of a BMW V8 M-Powered
Transit van showing its utterly radical capability at drifting around a track. Notice
the lack of a helmet on the driver, which either displays a foolhardy sense of
bravado or utter confidence in the Transit Van’s safety record.

Smart fortwo

As small as the Smart fortwo is, it is remarkably safe. The
Smart’s, rigid safety cell can withstand amazing impacts without allowing
intrusion into the passenger compartment. Check out this YouTube crash test video that
demonstrates it vividly.

Since the Smart fortwo is rear-wheel drive, making a drifter
out of it comes naturally. I thought this video showcased not only
some sweet drifting but also great flames from the tailpipe.

Got some intel on any of cars in the May TopGear Car Pack?
Let us hear about it in the dedicated thread on the forums! We’ll pick our
favorites to feature in a future edition of “FYI on DLC” and award a unicorn
car to the contributors!